Tonight kicks off
the Drink in Ludlow Wine Walk, the first in a bi-monthly series to promote
the historic Gaslight District in Clifton. Sip samples of wine while sauntering
along the picturesque Ludlow Avenue, and pop in participating businesses like
Esquire Theatre, Habanero, Skyline, Sitwells, Mustard Seed Boutique and about a
dozen more, from 6-8 p.m. The walk and
wine are all complimentary (yay!); vendor proceeds benefit the Cincinnati
Public Library’s Clifton Branch (double yay!). After the walk, enjoy live music at Arlin's and Ludlow Garage 'til 10.
The Hamilton
County Fair also begins its five-day run today, 4-11 p.m. Today’s special
events include an urban garden vegetable exhibit, live lion and tiger show, cow
milking demo, “celebrity” demolition derby, classic car show and much more in
addition to rides, games and grub. Go here
for directions and a full schedule.
Tone House Music
presents open mic from 7-10 p.m.
tonight. Liz Burkhart hosts the showcase each second Wednesday. Bring
instruments, friends, beers and come early to sign up. Each artist should have
about 15 minutes to perform. Providing there’s extra time, the night will end
with an open jam session.
The College Hill Block Party
continues tonight at College Hill Presbyterian Church. Enjoy free food, music by
Most Wanted, booths from local businesses and organizations and more fun, 6-9
p.m. The night begins with a unity walk at 5:45.
Ongoing events: Reggae
Wednesday on Fountain Square featuring Don Chani; Hofbrauhaus Beer Stein
Holding Competition; Sexy Time Live Band Karaoke at Northside Tavern; Kickball + Bandstand
Bluegrass at Washington Park featuring Ma Crow and the Lady Slippers

Singer/songwriters David Faul and Ian Mathieu hit the local songwriter circuit

Rootsy local musician David Faul is no longer with the wonderfully-named duo project with fellow singer/songwriter Ian Mathieu, Terminal Union (my favorite Cincinnati-centric band name of all time … and there are a lot of good ones). The two artists are discontinuing their project, which had been recording, and pursuing the solo route for a while. That's bad news in the sense that Faul and Mathieu meshed very well together in duo form. (And that name, just sitting there, wasted!) But it's good news because each artist is really good on their own. (And you can hear some of what they've done together so far here still.)Mathieu has been impressing people in local venues since his teens. Tomorrow (Thursday) he'll be performing at and hosting the weekly Cincinnati Songwriter Round event at Tone House Music (4040 Hamilton Ave., Northside). Mathieu is filling in for usual host Andyman Hopkins. Music starts at 7 p.m. and it's a B.Y.O.B. kinda night, so bring yer own hooch. Mathieu will be joined "in the round" by singer/songwriters Mark Becknell, Doug Teets and Ben Knight. Here's a clip of Mathieu performing recently at Plain Folk Cafe shot by the great local music website Cincy Groove.Faul, oddly enough, is also hosting a songwriter's showcase/open mic/open jam this week. On Sunday, he'll perform at and run the open mic/jam at Plain Folk Cafe, the new Americana/Folk/Bluegrass hotspot in Pleasant Plain, Ohio. The jam is running from noon-4 p.m. and is quickly becoming a popular musicians' destination. Faul writes on his Facebook that the jam is open to all skill levels and those "with a flare for original, folk, acoustic, bluegrass, americana, roots music" should come on out. It's a laid-back affair and you can bring your own instrument or borrow one.Faul's great original composition "Magnificent Sounds" recently got a bunch of attention when it was posted on the Dylan fan site Expecting Rain, where it drew enough hits to be in the Top 20 of most viewed posts for several days.Faul says he wrote the song in tribute to two of his musical idols — Jazz great Miles Davis and late, brilliant singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. He accomplishes this by blending spine-tingling Jazz trumpet licks, performed by fantastic local multi-instrumentalist Michael Mavridoglou, with a more folksy base. The tune was intended for a Terminal Union album, but for now, it lives on in cyberspace. The track also features Mathieu on guitar, Jared Manker on bass and Brad Kelly on harmony vocals.About the song, Faul writes on SoundCloud: "With the help of Michael Mavridoglou on trumpet we tried to blend elements of jazz and folk into one song creating a sound beyond genre characterization. I'm blessed to have heard the music of the great jazz masters and folk song-writers. I believe the love of all genres of music is what shapes our musical journey in the most profound and engaging ways." What a great sentiment. And a great end result. Give it a listen below.